Global Business Innovation

With the GBI ECP, RMIT will be "Leading and harnessing research-driven change to unlock the value and impact of innovation within Australia and worldwide".

It will deliver impactful research aimed at increasing the innovation capabilities of private and public sector firms, through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach with external stakeholders, combining excellence and relevance, and promoting RMIT as an innovation hub.

This involves addressing a broad range of topics, including organisational forms, governance mechanisms, business model and partner selection for innovation, managerial practices conducive to innovation, innovation adoption and diffusion, individual characteristics of innovators, as well as innovation’s regulation, performance and impact – and illuminating innovation in all its facets with insights from a wide range of business fields including Economics, Strategy, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Organisational Behaviour, Sociology, Psychology, Human Resource Management, Logistics, Information Systems, Finance, Law, Accounting and Design – and incorporating STEM subject matter expertise as needed.

The research skills and competencies within this ECP can be applied to any sector or organisation, regardless of size or stage of development. The primary areas where our expertise will be directed are indicated below.

Research and innovation priorities

Collaborative design approaches for innovation

Gathering together the competencies and skills required to engage in an open and collaborative innovation process.

Focus areas include:

designing innovation ecosystems
and platforms

stakeholder engagement

co-creation

creativity and design thinking

business models

foresight

user experience and lead user innovation, and

value constellations and ideation

Organisational transformation
and innovation capabilities
enhancement

Embracing the range of capabilities
needed to organise and implement
innovation, including:

leadership and human resource
management

technology and processes
management

ICT-enabled innovation

knowledge and change
management

engaging communication

quality management, and

supply chain management and
optimisation.

This priority area also examines changes
in work practices due to digital
transformation.

Innovation performance
and governance

This area addresses:

the interplay between innovation,
regulation, law and intellectual property

management control and performance
measurement

governance for innovative systems

the conditions needed for innovation
to thrive

mechanisms and systems that support
the diffusion of innovation, and

business ethics

Innovation valuation and impact measurement

This area focuses on measuring, valuing and evaluating innovation at all levels, from studying teams, projects and organisations, to entire nations.

It also studies innovation-related objects such as brands.

Key application areas

Entrepreneurial ecosystems

Knowledge-intensive firms across manufacturing and services

The tech-economy

Research translation hubs

Government bodies and agencies

This increased understanding of how to be more innovative, will enable our University and the Australian public and private sectors to translate our shared research findings into innovative products, services, systems and models that lead to world-changing economic, social and environmental benefits.

Framework for 3D printing of medical implants

RMIT is collaborating with the medical technology (MedTech) industry to investigate the regulatory implications and market opportunities in using additive manufacturing (3D printing) to produce medical implants. Currently, there is no nationally or globally accepted framework for regulating the additive manufacturing implants industry. This project aims to contribute to the development of a regulatory framework and subsequent guidelines for the adoption and diffusion of this disruptive new technology, to benefit the industry, patients and health care system. This research engages with industry associations, regulatory bodies, new and established MedTech companies, and leading research centres such as RMIT’s Advanced Manufacturing Precinct.

FinTech

RMIT’s financial technology (FinTech) research and innovation capability is being developed through collaboration and knowledge sharing with a number of global partners who are leaders in the FinTech space. New technologies are driving massive change in financial systems and there is strong demand for academia to intensify research and analysis in this sector. This project is building the University’s research expertise in fields such as cyber security, blockchain technology, data analytics, economic and regulatory policy support, and law and strategic management.

The Global Business Innovation ECP Platform in collaboration with RMIT’s College of Business has launched the ‘Global Business Innovation Conversations’. This is a series of research-driven events showcasing the latest technology and innovation predicted to propel the future of business across industries with focus on health, manufacturing and finance in 2018. You can expect provocative and forward-thinking conversations among leaders in the field, backed by experimental and project research findings from global innovation hubs.